Russel Crowe And The Circumcision Controversy

Updated on January 4, 2012

Celebrity Tweets Out Against Circumcision

On June 9, 2011 Russell Crowe officially joined a growing number of people to voice their opposition to circumcision.

Support for circumcision has not globally been of much significance, but has been notable among some Americans primarily who have defended it as a Judeo-Christian tradition or as cosmetically and hygienically beneficial. Crowe, who is Australian, waded into the debate when one of his fans asked his opinion on whether or not they should circumcise their male child.

Not pulling any punches, the actor decried circumcision as "barbaric" and "stupid". His final words on the subject were addressed to any followers who might disagree with his position. His advice to them was to unfollow him and "f**k off".

Here's What Others Are Saying:

Reactions have varied, but the majority of people who are commenting on the story seem to be defending Russell Crowe and supporting his opinion on the issue.

Here are a few of the more recent comments from Twitter:

VerucaSalt: "You're right Russell Crowe, circumcision is barbaric and stupid. Agreeing with you once can't hurt I suppose."

Crowe Apologizes For Anti-Circumcision Rant

While many people accepted Crowe's motivation as one of concern, a vocal minority framed his statements as being insensitive to Jewish religious practices and possibly bigoted.

In response to this, Crowe issued an apology to anyone who he may have offended, saying "My personal beliefs aside I realize that some will interpret this debate as me mocking the rituals and traditions of others. I am very sorry."

Director Eli Roth defended the statements and acknowledged their friendship. Whether this will be enough to quiet the storm remains to be seen, but as circumcision is often not the most popular topic in the media, it is likely that attention will dwindle over the next few days as people focus on more popular issues, such as the Tony Awards and Whoopi Goldberg's hat.

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Comments 9 comments

I do think Russell was being a little insenstive. Everyone has a right to their opinion, but he could have voiced his opinion in a better way.

ThunderKeys 5 years ago

How is labeling a ritual practice not also labeling the people who do it?

Russell Crowe Needs to learn from this, in my view. Religious freedom is a critical feature of a healthy democracy.

- Duddy.

Bud Gallant 5 years ago from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada Author

Thanks for the comments. It will definitely be interesting to see if this development will have any bearing on his future social networking interactions with fans.

Sethareal 5 years ago

He is totally out of line and may not consider his comments to be anti-semetic, they are. Bottom line is that Jews and Muslims (semetic people) are circumsized and he asked all Jewish/Muslim fans to stop following him and f**k off, if that is not anti-semetic then what the hell is? History tidbit: Emperor Hadrian tried to ban circumcision as well as San Francisco, which resulted in the failed Bar Kokhba revolution.

I hope this is just the beginning, with Mel Gibson gone we need a new bigoted Australian to laugh at. Did you know that Australia has the largest neo-Nazi party per capita than any other democratic nation? I can't believe they have a female PM now, with the term 'sheila' being thrown around in their backwards places.

My dream is someday that Russel Crowe (sadist) and Mel Gibson (masochist) team up for the ultimate movie. Most of Mel Gibson's movies end with him being violently beaten up and tortured and Russel Crowe with his using a phone to assault hotel staff can take his tugboat friend to beat people up all over the world, why not have him beat the shit out of Mel Gibson? I would pay to see that movie in XD, 3D or whatever they have these days.

denny 5 years ago

The guy is nuttier than a fruit cake

denny 5 years ago

The bastard is a great actor though, I'll give him that much

Bud Gallant 5 years ago from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada Author

Sethareal, sorry for the late reply. Thank you so much for your thoughtful comment. I totally understand where you are coming from with that. I didn't know there is a lot of Neo-Nazis in Australia. That is interesting.

Denny, thanks for the comments. I agree with you on the acting ability.

Temirah 5 years ago

Well, if the comments on your hub are anything to go by, he's kicked a hornet's nest and got people thinking/talking if nothing else. Religious freedom and freedom of speech needn't be mutually exclusive if respect is alive and well in all camps.

This whole topic had passed me by! Interesting hub and thanks for capturing it in a nutshell.

Bud Gallant 5 years ago from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada Author

Thanks for the comment Temirah.

Yes, I agree. Circumcision it seems has become a pretty heated issue, that often has some pretty extreme and passionate views on both sides. There are those who consider it to be, by definition, "genital mutilation" and a physical assault on a child. It seems that's sort of his perspective, but he was surprisingly abrasive with the words he chose.

On the flip-side, is obviously those who believe it is a sign of a covenant with God, and those who support the practice for cosmetic reasons or perceptions relating to health benefits. I'm sure that it's not the last we'll here on the topic, but possibly the last time Russell Crowe will make a statement on it.